Running in Marin: Mill Valley's McManus competing in first Dipsea in four years

Mix a competitive runner with surgeries on both feet and you have a recipe for melancholia. But that was not the case for Mill Valley's Mark McManus. In 2012, he underwent two bilateral bunionectomies (bunion removals), which left him on crutches and disability insurance for months, but he never lost his positive outlook.

"The down time was a blessing in disguise," McManus said. "It was a needed break from two decades of racing, I got to spend a lot of time with my young son Myles (now 6). I worked in my garden and I became a coach."

Encouraged by many, from his mailman, to Myles' friends, to strangers he meets in the grocery store, McManus is returning to the Dipsea on June 8 for the first time since 2010.

"All my running is focused on the Dipsea. There is nothing like it in terms of physical and mental challenge," McManus said. "I always feel like I have a chance to win. I believe some day my dedication and training will pay off in the form of a victory. As the great (basketball coach) Pat Riley once said, 'Hard work and dedication doesn't guarantee a win, but without it, you don't stand a chance.'"

McManus, 40, is a Mill Valley native, attending Park and Mill Valley Middle schools. He got into running at St. Ignatius High, earning all-state honors in track and cross country. He was a five-time All-American at UC Davis, where he set several school distance records.

For five years out of college, McManus raced with the elite Nike Farm Team based in Palo Alto. He is particularly proud of his best 1,500-meter time of 3 minutes, 44 seconds and being the third-fastest American at the Bay to Breakers in 2003.

McManus' Dipsea debut was in 2005 in the Runner (second) Section, which he won. He went on to capture the prestigious Best Time trophy three consecutive years, 2006-08. McManus' favorite Dipsea moment was in 2009 when a wee Myles crawled up onto the awards stage while he was accepting his second-place trophy.

"Mark was a mentor to me," said Alex Varner, who has won five Best Time trophies since McManus' last. "We connected through a shared love for the Dipsea and I wanted to hear everything he had to say on the race. I wouldn't be the runner I am without him."

But congenital foot problems, exacerbated by running, were always there for Mark, even as a teenager. Subtle compensating changes in his mechanics led to other problems, such as shin splints and stress fractures. More recently, he showed signs of arthritis in his big toes, which a doctor warned would worsen. Finally, a very painful hiking trip in the Sierra led him to undergo the bunion surgeries, on each foot. They were performed, four months apart, by Dr. Amox Saxena, whose clients include women's world marathon record holder Paula Radcliffe.

Unlike many obsessed injured runners craving their endorphin fix, McManus said "I didn't do that much" during his forced hiatus. He certainly knew how to handle injury: McManus has a masters degree in occupational therapy and works with patients from two Marin hospitals, a job he calls "very rewarding." He took over many of the school and sports driving duties for Myles. And he coached several top Marin runners, including YiOu Wang, who qualified for the 2012 Olympic Trials Marathon, and Nancy Simmons, who won the Runner Section in 2012.

"I am fortunate to be coached by a runner who so generously shares his passion and in-depth knowledge of the sport," Simmons said. "He is a disciplined, and fiercely competitive elite athlete, both physically and mentally, and he combines that with a palpable joy for the sport. He trains hard and races harder, and he inspires me to do the same while reminding me that we do this because it's fun."

"Mark is such a positive force in both running and life," friend and self-described "Dipsea black shirt (top 35) wannabe" Matthew Hinde said. "He basically makes you feel like you can do it, even if it's not quite that easy in reality! He's a really modest, down-to-earth guy who makes conquering mountains feel achievable."

McManus started running again in early 2013.

"I had lost a lot of strength," he said. "I'm regaining it slowly, trying to be patient and smart, focusing on the long term. Now I'm enjoying running more than ever."

Turning 40 in September, he has begun collecting trophies in his new masters category, including a second place at the prestigious Way Too Cool 50K (31 miles) race in March and second at Bay to Breakers on May 18.

Notes

• Gary Gellin of Mill Valley won the 19th annual Miwok 100K, Marin's longest race, on May 3. His time was 8:56 for the 62.2-mile course, which includes 12,800 feet of uphills. Novato's Mark Richtman was fourth, at age 59. The race had record highs of 437 starters and 358 finishers, just 46 of them breaking 12 hours.

• Galen Burrell, 34, of Mill Valley was the first Marin finisher at the 103rd Bay to Breakers Race on May 18. He was the 32nd man to complete the 12K, in the exact same time (40:19) as the winning woman. Burrell will be running his first Dipsea Race on June 8, as will San Franciscan Rickey Gates, who finished 27th. Wang led Marin's women contingent at Breakers with her 47:40.

• Philip Reid won the 37th annual Marin Memorial Day 10K, becoming the race's first four-time champion. Reid ran the 6.2 miles through the streets of Kentfield, Ross, San Anselmo and Larkspur in 30:41. Jane Kibili led all women in 33:50. Kirk Scheibechut won the Don Ritchie 5K and Rylee Bowen, who also won last year at age 13, was first female. There were 743 finishers in the two races, plus many more in a series of kids races.

Kentfield's Jennifer Donahue, who ran the 5K last year and lives along the course while not on military assignment, arranged a "shadow run" in Afghanistan. Jennifer, 41, and some 16 other soldiers ran the same distance, albeit at nearly 6,000 feet in elevation and over loose gravel, at the exact same time, evening in Afghanistan. Several local runners wore shirts honoring the soldiers and race director Dave Ripp plans on adding them to the official results and awarding them race shirts.

Barry Spitz is the author of 'Dipsea: The Greatest Race.' Email him at bzspitz@aol.com.